Friday, June 1, 2012

Career Woman

Recently self-assessing, I had to ask myself: "Are you a career woman?"
The answer to that question was very important to me because one thing I had always purposed, even before I got married, was to never let my job/career get in the way of my marriage or family. For this singular reason, I remember saying: "I don't want to be a 'career woman.'" Well, guess what I've found out - some decades later? Yes - I am a career woman and surprisingly, I'm very happy with that "discovery." I actually accepted that simply because the word "Career" starts off with "Care." When the Lord opened my eyes to that, I better understood why He let me become a CARE-er woman.

C - He wants me to come up higher; climb the corporate and other ladders and not forget to help others up too. Climbing takes an effort and focus. For too long, the concept of being a "Career woman" has had a negative connotation - so it's up to us to demonstrate the value of being a career woman. Climb and shine to God's glory.

A - God blesses and "promotes" us so we can assist others. There are so many ways to lend a helping hand to others. It is sad that some people climb the ladder and take the ladder with them. If your predecessor took the ladder with them, what would you climb? I've found that there are so many opportunities for us to assist others. A wise person said: Being good is commendable, but only when it is combined with doing good is it useful. I like to tell people that they are free to ask me any questions they have and that if I don't have the answers, together we'll find someone or somewhere that has them. Think about it, we all know someone who knows someone who knows someone...I could go on but would rather move on to "R."

R - yes, it stands for Relatable. When you think about it, if a tree doesn't stay "related" to the soil, it will not survive let alone thrive. The popular saying: "no man is an island*" is just as true as the fact that "one tree doesn't make a forest."

Just as a forest starts with a tree and more, we all need each other. Being relatable is about looking out for the other person's best interest and in doing that God takes care of you too.

E - I know "E" stands for "end" but more importantly, in this post, it stands for "Effective." At the end of everything we do - at home, work, & elsewhere - we need to be effective. This essentially means that we produce results - not reasons or excuses of "why not." John Wooden advised that we must "never mistake activity with achievement."